The importance of phonological awareness

The awareness of the sounds that make up words is critical to being able to blend sounds together for
later reading, and segmenting words into sounds for later spelling.

Educators can introduce these concepts to young children through:

songs

rhymes and games

shared book reading

Collaborative emergent writing experiences (for example drawing with annotation).

Note: You can do experiences for phonological awareness without using any written words. It is about
the sounds that the words make, not about the letters we use to spell them.

Lesson 4: Read Aloud Experiences

Read-alouds set up children for literacy success. Research and practice show that reading aloud to young
children is the best way to prepare children for learning to read and to keep them reading as they learn
and grow. Reading aloud helps children develop the critical literacy and language skills that they will use
in school and throughout their lives.

Reading aloud is often children’s first entrance into discovering the wonderful world of literacy. It
creates a unique bonding experience between the reader and the listener only shared through the
pages of a book. As parents, caregivers, and teachers read aloud they nurture children’s love of both the
written and spoken word. Read-alouds stimulate children’s imagination and curiosity as they follow the
twists and turns of a plot or discover new facts and ideas. It also helps children develop the important
oral language skills that will help them learn to read and write on their own. See Figure 1.1 for additional
benefits of read-alouds. Ultimately, read-alouds develop children’s lifelong appreciation for reading.

Effective Read -Alouds For Emergent Literacy

Provide exposure to rich, authentic literature.

Develop children’s motivation and appreciation for reading.

Provide authentic opportunities for parents and teachers to model what good readers do.

Develop children’s understandings of the forms and functions of print.

Provide opportunities for language and vocabulary expansion.

Develop children’s imagination, curiosity, and comprehension of text.

Many children benefit from reading aloud. It is a time for them to enjoy special individual attention, to
reinforce language and concept development, and to work on book handling skills. In order for the
experience to be pleasant and meaningful, however, it is important to follow a few basic tips.

Reading a book with a young child should be fun for both the adult and child.

Choose a book that relates to the child's own experiences.